The canary in the coal mine had its literal origins in the mining industry. In order to test for toxic gases, miners would lower a caged canary into a mine shaft. Bringing up a dead songbird meant humans wouldn’t be descending that shaft. The metaphor remains apt because, even today, some of us are the canaries–generally women and girls, many of whom don’t realize that via their extraordinary sensitivity they’re our sentinels for existing and new environmental crises imperceptible to the rest of us.
I think it’s absolutely no coincidence that the dozen or so sibyls from ancient civilizations, “uttering things not to be laughed at” (as Heraclitus wrote in the 5th century BC), were all women. In those times, people worshipped the sibyls for their uncommon wisdom. But by the Middle Ages they were burning them as witches.
We should be thankful there’s no shortage of sibyls/human canaries among us even now. Modern-day canaries who are aware of their skills often are quite private about their observations, rightfully fearful that doctors might label them as hypochondriacs or neurotic. Having seen many of these canaries over the years, the very first thing I’ll say to a patient who describes, for example, feeling ill when she drives near a power station is that I believe her, that it’s wrongheaded to assume everyone’s sense of smell, color, taste, touch, and intuition is exactly like everyone else’s.
To understand what’s happening here, consider the neurotransmitter serotonin, the ubiquitous feel-good brain chemical that acts as our stress-buffering system. A woman’s stress-buffering level is generally about one-quarter that of a man’s. I personally “feel” absolutely nothing driving past an electric power station. On the other hand, my stress buffer is four times that of the woman patient sitting across from me. If we were to measure the serotonin levels of all women on the planet, we’d find the bottom third are likely so extremely sensitive to stressors of a most subtle nature that they are, as one canary described a bad day, like walking open wounds in a world made of salt.
These canaries are the people who, when free of stress, are highly intuitive, can “feel” energies, and are extraordinarily sensitive to colors, textures, and sensations. Artists, writers, musicians, and poets of both genders generally fall into this group as well. These are the people reporting conditions such as multiple chemical sensitivities, the ones who first filed lawsuits for sick building syndrome, and the group that experiences side effects from even the lowest doses of prescription drugs. Because of their poor buffering system, canaries under relentless stress will develop depression and anxiety and stress-induced conditions like fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic headaches, and adrenal and thyroid gland exhaustion.
Facing a male-dominated and often hostile medical profession, when canaries seek help they’re frequently written off as neurotics and hypochondriacs, sent to psychiatrists, diagnosed with depression or anxiety, and prescribed antidepressants. Ironically, as the serotonin-raising antidepressants boost their stress buffer the “canary insights” vanish and both patient (sadly) and physician (self-righteously) conclude the symptoms must have been driven by depression all along. This article from webmd.com comments on the “controversial nature” of multiple chemical sensitivities, its female predominance, and the use of SSRI antidepressants. Read it to see how mainstream medicine struggles with such a concept.
Your health and our planet’s in sync
I decided to write about the idea of canaries and sensitivities because I’ve been reading Dr. Keith Berndtson’s recently published book Seek Wisdom. Dr. B is an integrative physician practicing in suburban Chicago who for many years has been fascinated by the larger philosophic implications of both human and planetary health. Right up front, let me warn prospective readers that Seek Wisdom is a challenging book, not to be flipped through casually as you sit poolside. Read this one holding a pen, not a pina colada. You’ll need to deal with philosophical references, from the ancient Greeks and the Bible through Immanuel Kant, David Hume, George Santayana, Paul Tillich, and others.
The premise of Seek Wisdom is that your good health or chronic illness parallels mightily the health and illness of our planet. Berndtson is not the first physician-philosopher to point out this sympathy between the small and the large. Others have commented on the idea that both our arteries and rivers carry environmental toxins. On a large scale, these toxins decimate wildlife and destroy landscapes. In smaller relief, they alter our immunity, bring us new diseases (West Nile, Lyme, Ebola), and increase our susceptibility to cancer.
Our Earth is likely developing its own unique version of depression, anxiety, fibromyalgia, and chronic fatigue. In other words, our willingness to allow the slow death of our planet will slowly kill us off as well.
The wisdom of Seek Wisdom is this
Only a fully integrative approach to an individual’s health and healing combined with an integrative approach to the stewardship of our planet can save the situation. For the individual, a practitioner of integrative medicine (who can be an MD, osteopath, chiropractor, acupuncturist, herbalist, homeopath, or energy healer) will work with the arc of your life to develop an understanding of why your chronic illness developed. Then she’ll explain and offer lifestyle changes that will enhance personal self-healing.
For our Earth, Dr B imagines an “integrative planetary steward” who will pay careful heed to our sibyls–our precious canaries–and instead of prescribing Prozac will honor their wisdom on how to clean our air and water, turn the volume down on our wasteful lifestyles, and leave the forests alone.
To you canaries out there–you who feel colors and sounds, subtle barometric pressure shifts, electricity from power lines, and poisons from sick buildings, you who can read the energies of a person, place, or inanimate object, you who’ve been aware of your intuitive skills since childhood–don’t under any circumstances seek medical attention from a conventional, mainstream physician to “treat” your gifts. Remember what they did to those sibyls who lasted until the Middle Ages.
Be well,
David Edelberg, MD
P.S. The Teacher’s Union Strike brings many challenges to families. As many of you know, I have been on the Board of Directors of Facets and the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival for decades. To help families and to keep children from sitting in front of the TV all day long, Facets is offering a Children’s Film Immersion Workshop. Screening some of the best non-violent, non-sexist children’s films from around the world, the next few days (until the strike is over) can be a great experience for your child. You can enroll your child on any day. Click here for details.
So, I’ve always thought of myself as a canary in a coal mine. I am exceptionally sensative to everything: noise, medicine, most modern food, crowds, indoor light, lack of restful sleep, disruptions & distractions, wastefulness, materialism, clutter…basically, modern life. And now that smart devices rule our life, I can hardly breathe. I have to go to the park and walk around amongst the trees, sometimes for hours, so that I catch my breath. Today I googled “Am i a canary in a coal mine?” And found your article. I’m not sure where to go from here, but at a minimum I’ll keep reading.
Lynn
Great Article- explains chronic health sensitivity and the need to seek a holistic path to healing
Joslyn Jelinek
Hi Rachel
I do regret the omission of bodyworkers from my list of integrative practitioners. We all acknowledge the value of body therapies in, for example, conditions of chronic pain, where the root cause comes from memories lurking deep in muscles. Certainly we’d all be better off if regular massage were added to healthy eating, regular exercise, meditation and warm, friendly hugs
Dr E
I, too, am a canary and until this post never realized that this is indeed a real state of being. I feel barometric changes and human energy daily. Wow; it’s great to know there are others like me out there!
Always insightful and eye-opening posts.
Juli
I join Jill in expressing appreciation for your article today on highly sensitive, intuitive women. It is wonderful to feel acknowledged and understood — thank you! I greatly improved my health in the last two years by quitting a stressful corporate job and working as a freelancer but have yet to find a primary care physician who takes an integrative or functional approach. I wish that more doctors had your perspective and knowledge. Any advice on how to find a qualified integrative medicine practitioner in my area?
Tanya
Dear Dr. Edelberg,
I am validated by your article and hope that you will continue sending such great work out into the world.
My wish would be that more doctors would be as you are, you are a true healer.
Olga Markoff
Hi, I am a canary. After a head injury either brought about or exacerbated my MVPS (mitral valve prolapse syndrome) aka disautonomia and MCS (multiple chemical sensitivity I ran the gammit of specialists till my diagnoses were made through an environmental health doctor and a cardiologist. One of the things that helped the most was converting my gas stove and heating to electric from gas. I had read a story online about a woman who had done this with remarkable results. I used to feel nauseaus and lightheaded 24/7, now this happens only when I am overloaded or” dosed” and my, bucket” is too full. My husband and I even started a company to help people in similar situations.
chris
All of us were born with inner wisdom and intuition (I don’t think that just women have these gifts.) These powers can be developed and honed over time as we acknowledge their validity and choose to listen to them. There is nothing magical or mysterious about these abilities, which arise from our basic survival instincts and have served us well for as long as humans have been on the earth. Unfortunately, most physicians (I’d include most female practitioners also) tend to see these gifts as aberrant thought or emotions, or a form of mental illness, since this is so greatly in conflict with the conventional medicine paradigm. All I can say is — disregard your inner wisdom at your own peril!
Margo
Dr. Edelberg,
I am a former patient (my relocation sadly ended our professional relationship). I am a loyal reader of your blogs. You provide invaluable information to those seeking it. I have referred my clients to review your blog archives. That said, it continues to disappointment me that when you elect to list all the alternative health professionals who can assist in a condition, you omit listing licensed massage therapists. Being that I am a licensed massage therapist, I know that the work I do helps those who suffer from stress related conditions. I have freed clients from their restrictions due to necessary but invasive surgeries. I know that massage is a successful alternative to easing pain without prescriptions. So, why is my profession omitted from your list of alternative health practitioners? Granted, I am now a Reiki Master and can be classified as an energy worker. Therefore, my clients get a two for one session, massage combined with energy work. Still, energy work and massage therapy are very separate professions. Perhaps a simple oversight?
Sincerely with much love and respect,
Rachel McIntyre L.M.T. #4777-146 (WI)
Rachel
Great post today! On behalf of the sibyls, though, witchcraft prosecutions (evil as they were) took place mostly in the early modern period (15th-17th c.) and the victims weren’t necessarily “wise women.” Some of the sibyls were harassed and persecuted in the Middle Ages, but many were revered and honored. The greatest of them, my beloved Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179), is about to be declared a Doctor of the Church. She was a keenly intuitive environmentalist before the time, and I’m eager to see if the pope mentions this in his declaration on Oct. 7.
Barbara Newman
Dr. E, your words actually brought tears. I felt understood. By a male physician, no less. !
This brings validation for me as I’ve treated severe depression chemically, yet coupled with cognitive behavioral therapy, I could “graduate” to treating myself holistically through supplementation and whole body wisdom. And what a difference.
But unlike then, I now trust and flourish with my intuitive awareness. It’s amazing what a healthy bit of self-trust can do for a body-soul!
Jill
How does your treatment approach compare/contract to Dr B’s?
Bee